Michael Citro
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Grumpy Old Buckeye: Nitpicking Ohio State’s 49-14 win over Marshall
Michael Citro via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Why beat a team by only five touchdowns when you can win by more if you play better?
Ohio State’s 49-14 win over Marshall will probably look like business as usual to fans and media members around the country who didn’t watch the nationally televised game on FOX. However, it was a sometimes-annoying affair after an “improvement week” was supposed to make the team better… at least until the offense put the game away.
Here are the things that made me want to go back under the anesthesia used for my colonoscopy when the Buckeyes played Marshall:
The Buckeyes struggled to stop a mediocre Marshall offense on the first drive of the game, conceding two quick first downs on consecutive third downs. Following success in the air, Marshall gashed Ohio State on the ground twice and became the first team to reach the red zone against the Buckeyes this season.
Lathan Ransom forced a fumble inside the 10, but no one on Ohio State could recover it before it went out of bounds. That gave Marshall a first-and-goal situation. The Herd punched Ohio State in the face by running it three times, including a scoring run on a third down, making Marshall three-for-three on third-down conversions.
Marshall has four new starters on the offensive line, and they looked much more cohesive than a veteran OSU defensive front. It was an unacceptable series for Jim Knowles’ group, considering who it will play in the coming weeks. It was also not a wake-up call.
It was generally poor much of the first half, with the Buckeyes allowing Marshall to convert seven times on third or fourth down on 13 tries.
I like to get excited when my team scores a touchdown. Emeka Egbuka scored one on Ohio State’s second play on offense, taking a short pass 68 yards to the house. But with a flag on the play, I was not able to be excited, thinking it was coming back.
The officials were slow and seemingly unprepared throughout the entire game. Ultimately, there was an announcement that there was no foul on the play. If there is no foul, don’t throw a flag. This can be accomplished by knowing the rules of the game. Football games are not for flag-throwing practice.
With the game tied at 7-7, Ohio State’s defense got a stop, assisted by an offensive penalty on Marshall. The Buckeyes got the ball into good field position and Will Howard took a shot downfield to Jeremiah Smith.
There were two problems with that. First, Smith wasn’t open. The coverage was good. Still, it’s generally OK to let your guy make a play in single coverage. The second, and bigger, problem is that Howard underthrew the ball, negating Smith’s ability to use his speed.
The defender walled off Smith and made the interception.
Jayden Fielding had a miserable day kicking off. It started brightly, with touchbacks on the opening kickoff and his next effort after Ohio State tied the game at 7-7. The starter then booted his next kick of bounds to the left in the second quarter after the Buckeyes made it 14-7. It happens, and that’s fine, because we learn from our mistakes.
Except for Fielding, who kicked not one, but his next two kickoffs out of bounds to the left in the game for a dubious hat trick of ineptitude. This gave Marshall good starting field position on a day when the defense wasn’t nearly its best. The Thundering Herd used that field position to score a touchdown just before halftime, cutting the lead to 28-14 at the time.
Fielding was replaced on kickoffs in the second half by Austin Snyder, who kept his kickoffs in the field of play. Snyder also kicked extra points on the last two OSU touchdowns.
Time will tell if Fielding has gotten himself Wally Pipp’d. This used to happen about once a game under Urban Meyer. It has not been a big issue in the Ryan Day era, but Saturday was a huge exception.
Brandon Inniss whiffed on fair catch deep in his own end, giving the Thundering Herd new life on a drive as the visitors recovered. However, the wide receiver was saved by a flag. Marshall didn’t line up correctly on the punt, which is the only reason the Thundering Herd didn’t get a chance to put more points on the board in the first half.
Inniss wasn’t punished by the coaching staff, remaining as the primary punt returner. He caught the ensuing one on the re-kick, but the mistake could have been costly in a one-score game or against better competition.
It’s 2024. The targeting foul has been in college football for years, and there’s still no consistency with which it is applied. I will cop to my bias, but it seems as if Ohio State players never end up on the good side of potential targeting.
Caden Curry was the latest Buckeye tossed for something that didn’t seem to be all that target-y to me. Curry hit Stone Earle a bit high, sure, and it was a late hit. That penalty would still have helped Marshall but kept Curry in the game. Currry didn’t launch himself at the quarterback and didn’t lead with his helmet, despite that being the ruling. Did he duck as he approached? Slightly. But he clearly led with his hands, which made contact first, and pushed the quarterback down.
There was some light and incidental facemask (not crown) to facemask contact after his hands made contact with Earle’s chest, but it seemed harsh to toss him for that. Helmets collide all the time after initial contact and we’ve seen the use of the side of the helmet, which is much harder than facemasks, not get guys tossed, even if they led with the side of the helmet.
Speaking of Earle, he entered the game with a 44% completion percentage in two previous games this season against the combined might of Virginia Tech (on the road) and Stony Brook (at home). The Buckeyes made him look like a much better quarterback, as he went 16-for-21 (76%) in the first half, throwing for 132 yards and adding a touchdown toss in the back of the end zone just before halftime.
All of his passing stats came in the first half, as he was injured early in the third quarter.
Ryan Day somehow got himself flagged for being on the field after calling a timeout in the second half. The reason he had to call that timeout was because the refs gave Marshall 20 seconds to substitute, which was egregiously excessive.
The game officials in general seemed ill prepared for the game and were far too slow both in explaining calls and in reviewing plays. After the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty backed Ohio State up, Chip Kelly called a run up the middle for some reason, and then Josh Fryar was embarrassed by Mike Green, who left him in the dust on a third-down sack, forcing a punt.
That’s enough for this game. It was a disappointing day for the defense, which failed to record a takeaway (except on downs) for the second consecutive week. The opponents will get better and harder to turn over. For a team that placed an emphasis on getting more takeaways in 2024, it isn’t happening yet.
It was also disappointing to not get basic game information from the broadcast team, who ignored the action at times in the second half to discuss topics such as former Marshall stars Chad Pennington and Randy Moss rather than explain a penalty on Ohio State on which the referee making the call wasn’t shown on screen. No one watching knew what the call was.
However, as usual, the good far outweighed the bad in another blowout win. Ohio State’s running game looks scary good with Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson both breaking big runs for touchdowns and adding various other explosion plays. The wide receivers — especially Egbuka and Smith — continue to make big plays.
Howard has a decent command of the offense and excels at run-pass option plays. We have hardly seen him run yet, and we know that’s in the playbook. The defense, which was supposed to be a strength, seems behind the offense at this stage in the season with Big Ten play starting next week, which is both concerning and odd.
Next up for the Buckeyes is a night game on the road in East Lansing against Michigan State.
Continue reading...
Michael Citro via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Why beat a team by only five touchdowns when you can win by more if you play better?
Ohio State’s 49-14 win over Marshall will probably look like business as usual to fans and media members around the country who didn’t watch the nationally televised game on FOX. However, it was a sometimes-annoying affair after an “improvement week” was supposed to make the team better… at least until the offense put the game away.
Here are the things that made me want to go back under the anesthesia used for my colonoscopy when the Buckeyes played Marshall:
Sleepy Defensive Start
The Buckeyes struggled to stop a mediocre Marshall offense on the first drive of the game, conceding two quick first downs on consecutive third downs. Following success in the air, Marshall gashed Ohio State on the ground twice and became the first team to reach the red zone against the Buckeyes this season.
Lathan Ransom forced a fumble inside the 10, but no one on Ohio State could recover it before it went out of bounds. That gave Marshall a first-and-goal situation. The Herd punched Ohio State in the face by running it three times, including a scoring run on a third down, making Marshall three-for-three on third-down conversions.
Marshall has four new starters on the offensive line, and they looked much more cohesive than a veteran OSU defensive front. It was an unacceptable series for Jim Knowles’ group, considering who it will play in the coming weeks. It was also not a wake-up call.
It was generally poor much of the first half, with the Buckeyes allowing Marshall to convert seven times on third or fourth down on 13 tries.
Flag the Referees for Delay of Game
I like to get excited when my team scores a touchdown. Emeka Egbuka scored one on Ohio State’s second play on offense, taking a short pass 68 yards to the house. But with a flag on the play, I was not able to be excited, thinking it was coming back.
The officials were slow and seemingly unprepared throughout the entire game. Ultimately, there was an announcement that there was no foul on the play. If there is no foul, don’t throw a flag. This can be accomplished by knowing the rules of the game. Football games are not for flag-throwing practice.
You’ve Got the Wrong Guy!
With the game tied at 7-7, Ohio State’s defense got a stop, assisted by an offensive penalty on Marshall. The Buckeyes got the ball into good field position and Will Howard took a shot downfield to Jeremiah Smith.
There were two problems with that. First, Smith wasn’t open. The coverage was good. Still, it’s generally OK to let your guy make a play in single coverage. The second, and bigger, problem is that Howard underthrew the ball, negating Smith’s ability to use his speed.
The defender walled off Smith and made the interception.
The Urban Meyer Memorial Kickoff(s) Out of Bounds
Jayden Fielding had a miserable day kicking off. It started brightly, with touchbacks on the opening kickoff and his next effort after Ohio State tied the game at 7-7. The starter then booted his next kick of bounds to the left in the second quarter after the Buckeyes made it 14-7. It happens, and that’s fine, because we learn from our mistakes.
Except for Fielding, who kicked not one, but his next two kickoffs out of bounds to the left in the game for a dubious hat trick of ineptitude. This gave Marshall good starting field position on a day when the defense wasn’t nearly its best. The Thundering Herd used that field position to score a touchdown just before halftime, cutting the lead to 28-14 at the time.
Fielding was replaced on kickoffs in the second half by Austin Snyder, who kept his kickoffs in the field of play. Snyder also kicked extra points on the last two OSU touchdowns.
Time will tell if Fielding has gotten himself Wally Pipp’d. This used to happen about once a game under Urban Meyer. It has not been a big issue in the Ryan Day era, but Saturday was a huge exception.
Inniss Misses
Brandon Inniss whiffed on fair catch deep in his own end, giving the Thundering Herd new life on a drive as the visitors recovered. However, the wide receiver was saved by a flag. Marshall didn’t line up correctly on the punt, which is the only reason the Thundering Herd didn’t get a chance to put more points on the board in the first half.
Inniss wasn’t punished by the coaching staff, remaining as the primary punt returner. He caught the ensuing one on the re-kick, but the mistake could have been costly in a one-score game or against better competition.
Targeting on Curry Helps Set Up Marshall TD
It’s 2024. The targeting foul has been in college football for years, and there’s still no consistency with which it is applied. I will cop to my bias, but it seems as if Ohio State players never end up on the good side of potential targeting.
Caden Curry was the latest Buckeye tossed for something that didn’t seem to be all that target-y to me. Curry hit Stone Earle a bit high, sure, and it was a late hit. That penalty would still have helped Marshall but kept Curry in the game. Currry didn’t launch himself at the quarterback and didn’t lead with his helmet, despite that being the ruling. Did he duck as he approached? Slightly. But he clearly led with his hands, which made contact first, and pushed the quarterback down.
There was some light and incidental facemask (not crown) to facemask contact after his hands made contact with Earle’s chest, but it seemed harsh to toss him for that. Helmets collide all the time after initial contact and we’ve seen the use of the side of the helmet, which is much harder than facemasks, not get guys tossed, even if they led with the side of the helmet.
Making Mediocre Seem Great
Speaking of Earle, he entered the game with a 44% completion percentage in two previous games this season against the combined might of Virginia Tech (on the road) and Stony Brook (at home). The Buckeyes made him look like a much better quarterback, as he went 16-for-21 (76%) in the first half, throwing for 132 yards and adding a touchdown toss in the back of the end zone just before halftime.
All of his passing stats came in the first half, as he was injured early in the third quarter.
More Referee Follies and Josh Fryar’s Whiff
Ryan Day somehow got himself flagged for being on the field after calling a timeout in the second half. The reason he had to call that timeout was because the refs gave Marshall 20 seconds to substitute, which was egregiously excessive.
The game officials in general seemed ill prepared for the game and were far too slow both in explaining calls and in reviewing plays. After the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty backed Ohio State up, Chip Kelly called a run up the middle for some reason, and then Josh Fryar was embarrassed by Mike Green, who left him in the dust on a third-down sack, forcing a punt.
That’s enough for this game. It was a disappointing day for the defense, which failed to record a takeaway (except on downs) for the second consecutive week. The opponents will get better and harder to turn over. For a team that placed an emphasis on getting more takeaways in 2024, it isn’t happening yet.
It was also disappointing to not get basic game information from the broadcast team, who ignored the action at times in the second half to discuss topics such as former Marshall stars Chad Pennington and Randy Moss rather than explain a penalty on Ohio State on which the referee making the call wasn’t shown on screen. No one watching knew what the call was.
However, as usual, the good far outweighed the bad in another blowout win. Ohio State’s running game looks scary good with Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson both breaking big runs for touchdowns and adding various other explosion plays. The wide receivers — especially Egbuka and Smith — continue to make big plays.
Howard has a decent command of the offense and excels at run-pass option plays. We have hardly seen him run yet, and we know that’s in the playbook. The defense, which was supposed to be a strength, seems behind the offense at this stage in the season with Big Ten play starting next week, which is both concerning and odd.
Next up for the Buckeyes is a night game on the road in East Lansing against Michigan State.
Continue reading...